We’re All Doomed: Using Your Smartphone Before Bed Can Cause Cellphone ‘Hangover’

Mostly if you're using it for business things, but still

So, we already knew that using our smartphones too much alienates us from actual human beings. Here’s another reason we should probably chill out with our smartphone obsessions: using your gadget late at night before bed can actually make you feel “hungover” the next day.

Well, more specifically, using a smartphone for business purposes causes this so-called “hangover.” According to a new study from Michigan State University, people who were on their phones cramming in work after 9 p.m. were notably more tired and less productive the next day compared with their unplugged counterparts, the Telegraph reports.

“Smartphones are almost perfectly designed to disrupt sleep,” Russell Johnson, MSU assistant professor of management, told the Telegraph. “Because they keep us mentally engaged late into the evening, they make it hard to detach from work so we can relax and fall asleep.”

The study also pointed out that “blue light” emitted from smartphones interferes with the body’s levels of melatonin, a chemical that promotes sleep. So even if you’re using your phone for decidedly non-business purposes like Candy Crush or Tinder or Draw Something (just kidding, nobody plays that anymore), chances are good that your gadget will be messing with your ability to catch some quality shut-eye.

So here’s what we suggest: when you’re getting ready to sleep tonight, place your smartphone on the other side of the room and then get into bed with a good book. Oh, what’s that? You only read books on your iPad? You know what, just forget it.